Mother and baby unit a 'significant step forward'

Mother and baby unit a 'significant step forward'Just nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMarie-Louise ConnollyHealth correspondent, BBC News NIGetty ImagesThe unit should open by 2028/29, the health minister saysA permanent regional Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) in Northern Ireland is to go ahead in the grounds of the Belfast City Hospital with a design team to be appointed immediately.Mothers and families have been campaigning for decades for a dedicated unit where women are treated alongside their babies instead of being separated and cared for in a general psychiatric ward.Women who develop postpartum psychosis often experience hallucinations, delusions, restlessness and if left untreated may harm themselves and their babies.The health minister said it represents a "significant step forward" and the aim is for it to open "no later than 2028/29".Speaking on the appointed site which is currently waste ground, Mike Nesbitt said interim and temporary facilities which had been discussed proved not to be cost effective.The minister said a scoping exercise confirmed that alternative options including a dedicated hospital ward would not deliver a materially shorter timeline or better value for money, and would not offer the same level of safety and assurance for mothers and babies.'I had to leave my baby and felt like a prisoner in hospital'Mothers in Stormont call to improve maternity careNI 'needs mother and baby mental health unit'Being built alongside an existing acute mental health inpatient facility in the grounds of the Belfast City Hospital and proximity to obstetric-led maternity services at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Nesbitt said was essential for safe, high-quality care.Each year, about 100 women in Northern Ireland are admitted to adult psychiatric wards for care, without their babies.What is postpartum psychosis?A rare but serious mental health illness that can affect any motherSymptoms can include hallucina...